Innovating and operating through growth
Here’s how I think about helping a team develop:
It’s not about telling people which fork in the road to take, it’s about revealing the fork and letting them decide which is the right path for them.
In the world of probabilities there is a concept of 1 minus, as in 1 minus the probability of something happening is the probability that something will not happen. For example, if there is a 34% chance your initiative will work, there is a 1 minus 34% – or 66% chance – something will not work. I get it, math is hard.
But this concept is useful beyond probabilities.
It helps reveal the contrary perspective in other problems too, like company culture. This dawned on me while reading What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz. Mr. Horowitz reminds us that when we’re building a culture we can choose concepts that sound positive, but we need to also think about how those traits may be weaponized.
For example, if you say your culture is ‘Flexible,’ that sounds really good – like you’re a lean adaptive group. But at some point, asking people to be flexible all the time is pretty much the same as saying “do what I say and don’t complain about it.”
Sounds pretty rigid to me.
This is further complicated because company cultures have all kinds of traits they’re trying to embody. As the concepts layer on top of each other, it gets trickier and trickier to tease out the underlying implications.
Of course, the goal isn’t perfection, its awareness. We can’t be perfect so if we’re aware that there are layers and nuance to how we live a culture, that’s a great start. Not to having a perfect company culture, but working toward one that doesn’t reward the 1 minus of it’s attributes.
by Andy
A common method for heating a cold car is cranking the dial on the temperature to full red, and blasting the fan on its highest setting.
But if your destination dictates you drive for more than a few minutes the car soon becomes uncomfortably warm, and then you need to adjust to an extreme in the opposite direction. You end up taking 1 step forward and 1 step back until you land somewhere in the middle.
Work can feel the same way; an extreme amount of effort at the beginning of a big project can lead to having to compensate by back pedaling in the other direction.
Try keeping things regulated. Put the temperature dial close to the middle, and keep the fan at a medium speed. Acknowledge that your work will take more than a few minutes and accept that your project may be slightly slower to warm up, but ultimately you’ll have to make fewer major adjustments and stay more comfortable.
by Andy
Here’s a simple way to invest in property: create art, then share it.
Write a poem, compose a song, paint a picture, sculpt a statue.
It will take practice, patience, self awareness, and showing up each day. You may feel frustrated, uncomfortable, afraid, excited, accomplished, acknowledged, soothed and a host of other emotions.
You will exercise your mind, convey a message, create something from your unique perspective, and share a small piece of yourself.
And you will own a piece of intellectual property.
Do this enough and you may own a small neighborhood.
One day the market in your neighborhood may even start to rise.
All you have to do is begin.
by Andy
If you want a useful restaurant recommendation it’s important to ask someone you trust and make sure they know you’re lactose intolerant, love spicy food, and will be in New York City in May.
Most people do the opposite when they ask questions at work: it’s more like they’re asking their best friend where to get dinner tonight – there’s a lot that doesn’t need to be said and pre-existing knowledge and experience with exactly this problem.
At work this method causes back and forth, even more email, and extra time.
When asking for help from busy people, or from people who’s attention is important to you, don’t overlook asking your question directly and don’t forget to give them the information they need. That will help them help you fastest.
This is also why people prefer handling things over the phone or in person – it ensures they can have an efficient conversation, help decipher next steps, and move on (and have a trimmer inbox to boot).
by Andy
If you provide a service, you can’t tell your buyer how important your relationships are and then demand something unreasonable from them when your supplier puts pressure on you.
Because then what you’re saying is “my supplier relationships are important, and my relationship with my buyers can be sacrificed because without my supplier, I have nothing to offer.” This of course makes no sense because without buyers, your suppliers will be out of business.
The hard part about partnerships isn’t when two sides are at odds, it’s when business priorities are at odds with business promises.
In those cases it’s critical to consider what your objectives are, and what promises you’re making to everyone, and then evaluate what being a good partner means.